"What is it?" Chen Luo pressed urgently.
Chen Ping narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling the past, and said, "Two years ago, during the autumn harvest, Wang Xigui, a tenant farmer from Xiaoxi Village east of the city, came to the manor and said that a tiger had escaped from West Xiu Mountain and carried off his wife. Young Miss was out handling some business at the time, so I reported it to you, Young Master."
After speaking, Chen Ping glanced sideways at Chen Luo. Chen Luo froze for a moment. Given his predecessor's personality, he would have paid no attention to something like this, so he had no memory of it.
"What did I say then?" Chen Luo asked.
"You told this old servant to handle it as he saw fit..." Chen Ping continued. "This old servant took it upon himself to find Zhou Yong, a hunter from Xiaoxi Village. I gave him twenty taels of silver, sent more than a dozen estate men to assist him, and went into West Xiu Mountain to capture that tiger. We surrounded it and killed it."
"And then?"
"Zhou Yong explored the tiger's den and said there should have been two tigers nearby, one male and one female. Yet after killing the female, he couldn't find the male. To be safe, I had people search the area for several more days, but we never found the male tiger, so I withdrew them. Young Master, could that male tiger have cultivated into a spirit and returned for revenge?"
Chen Luo pondered slightly. In this world, it was nothing unusual for wild beasts to become spirits. Setting aside those lucky enough to consume some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all had ways to awaken the intelligence of ferocious beasts and turn them into demons. The Daoists preached the Dao, the Buddhists offered universal salvation, and the Confucians enlightened the masses. It was entirely possible that some high-level cultivator had spoken a golden word, allowing that escaped male tiger to gain cultivation and transform into a Tiger Demon.
"Is Zhou Yong still around?" Chen Luo asked.
Chen Ping suddenly realized something and said, "Now that you mention it, Young Master, I remember. Before something happened to the Chen family, Zhou Yong went into the mountains and never returned. It's been about a month now."
Chen Luo furrowed his brow again and called sharply, "Zhong Kui!"
Zhong Kui's figure slowly emerged behind Chen Luo. Chen Luo had already explained Zhong Kui's existence to Chen Ping, but Chen Ping had never expected the other party's appearance to be so hideous. He was horrified, his legs turning weak, yet he stubbornly held himself upright to preserve the dignity of the Chen Manor steward. He merely turned his face away and refused to look at Zhong Kui.
Chen Luo paid no attention to Chen Ping's expression and instead asked Zhong Kui, "Did you discover anything after eating that Tamed ghost?"
Zhong Kui nodded. "That Tamed ghost has not existed for long, at most a month or so. Deep in its soul, there are still fragments of memories from when it was human. They are disordered, but it is still possible to make out that it made its living by hunting..."
"Then that Tamed ghost was most likely Zhou Yong..." Chen Luo mused. "In that case, the Tiger Demon that harmed my Chen Manor should be that missing male tiger."
"Then... what do we do now?" Chen Ping regarded Chen Luo as if he were his own son. He had always viewed Chen Luo through the lens of a "genius," so he was not surprised by Chen Luo's current performance. Instead, he felt that this was how the son of the master ought to act and asked instinctively.
Chen Luo thought for a moment and said, "The Tiger Demon has killed so many people. Its body must be overflowing with blood qi, so it won't dare approach the county seat. Since it was originally a ferocious beast from West Xiu Mountain, it must be hiding somewhere in West Xiu Mountain."
"I remember Father once saying that officials of the Great Xuan Dynasty could activate their Official Seals and consume the dynasty's fate to investigate the demonic and barbaric aura in a given area. The whole of Wan'an County is too large, and unless it is an emergency, Magistrate Cai certainly won't use the dynasty's fate to search the entire city. But if it's only West Xiu Mountain, my Chen family can still afford the price."
"Uncle Ping, withdraw two thousand taels of silver from the accounts!"
"Two thousand taels?" Chen Ping was startled. With Chen Xuan managing the Chen family and handling its rice, grain, and silkworm businesses, its annual income was only around four thousand taels. After deducting daily expenses and the money spent on smoothing things over, the amount deposited each year was only about twenty-five hundred taels. Chen Luo was asking to withdraw nearly a year's worth of savings in one go, which made Chen Ping once again wonder whether someone else had possessed Chen Luo's body.
"Young Master, shouldn't we ask Young Miss?" After hesitating for a moment, Chen Ping cautiously offered the suggestion.
Chen Luo frowned slightly. To be honest, his predecessor had never cared much about money. As for himself, although he had been a dirt-poor wage slave in his previous life, he had no real concept of silver either. The reason he had named "two thousand taels" was that he vaguely remembered the county office could use the dynasty's fate to bless the clan schools of wealthy families, with a clearly posted price. For a wealthy family in the county seat, the price was one thousand taels of silver.
Of course, after taking the money, the county office would use it to build bridges and roads, support widows and orphans, and subsidize official schools, which would in turn make the dynasty's fate even more robust.
Seeing Chen Ping's reaction, Chen Luo realized that two thousand taels was no small sum for the Chen family. He was about to agree to ask Chen Xuan's opinion, but then changed his mind. This money concerned the safety of the Chen Manor and was an expense that could not be spared under any circumstances. Chen Xuan had just suffered such a serious injury, so he should not burden her with more worries. His expression hardened, and he said, "Let Chen Xuan rest properly. I'll handle this matter!"
Chen Ping was stunned when he heard this. The Young Master had actually taken responsibility! It seemed the Old Master had been right—men truly did mature in an instant. He hurriedly nodded. "I... I'll go withdraw the Silver Notes from the accounts right away."
"Yes, go ahead. I'll wait for you at the gate. Don't alarm anyone else for now. The Tiger Demon probably still won't dare attack the county seat."
Chen Ping hurriedly acknowledged him and left. Only then did Chen Luo turn to look at Zhong Kui. When Zhong Kui had appeared earlier, Chen Luo, as the master of the Book Spirit, had sensed that the aura around him was weak.
"What's wrong? Were you injured while fighting the Tamed ghost earlier?"
Zhong Kui was taken aback and bowed to Chen Luo. "Thank you for your concern, Lord. I am fine. It is only that the Nether Land here is somewhat strange. Once you have dealt with the matter of the Tiger Demon, I will report it to you. There is no need to hurry."
Chen Luo nodded when he heard this. Zhong Kui had originally been a great judge of the underworld, so it was not strange that the Zhong Kui Book Spirit he had condensed could enter the Nether Land. But dealing with the Tiger Demon was indeed the highest priority, so he did not press further.
Once they exited the Chen Manor's gate, they found themselves on Xi'an Street, one of the three main streets of Wan'an County. The street was lined with the residences of wealthy families and powerful figures from the county seat, interspersed with a few academies and medical halls. It was the third watch of the night, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the road. Chen Ping brought a carriage out of the manor, and Chen Luo climbed aboard and ducked into the carriage compartment. He let Chen Ping drive while he began pondering how to face the foremost figure in the county seat—Magistrate Cai, Cai Tongchen!
The third watch was roughly between eleven at night and one in the morning. Based on Chen Luo's experience from his previous life, he would never knock on a superior's door at such an hour. The timing was simply too private; anything could be happening on the other side.
But Chen Luo had no choice now. According to Zhong Kui, the Tiger Demon would only learn what the Tamed ghost had done after the Tamed ghost returned. Thus, the Tiger Demon did not yet know that Zhong Kui had eaten it. But if the Tamed ghost failed to return by dawn, the Tiger Demon would certainly realize that something had happened, and unforeseen changes might follow.
There was another reason Chen Luo dared to do this: Cai Tongchen had been quite close to his deceased adoptive father and was said to have once received guidance from Father Chen. Chen Xuan, a woman, had been able to keep the Chen family's business from collapsing and even help it prosper. Cai Tongchen's support had undoubtedly played a part in that.
The moon was bright and the stars sparse. The county office was not far from the Chen Manor, and after about twenty minutes, Chen Ping drove the carriage to the rear of the county office. The magistrate's residence stood behind the government office, and naturally had a grand main gate at the back of the county office as well. Chen Ping went up and knocked. Before long, a gatekeeper rubbing his bleary eyes opened the door. Before he could utter a curse, he saw a sycee of silver being offered to him. He hurriedly swallowed his abuse, took the silver with his left hand and the calling card with his right, said, "Wait here," and closed the door.
Only then did Chen Ping understand why Chen Xuan had been certain that Advisor Li would lead the way. At this hour, the gatekeeper naturally would not dare go directly to Cai Tongchen. He could only first look for his uncle, Advisor Li. As a retainer, Advisor Li naturally had a residence of his own in the official mansion.
What Chen Luo had not expected was that Advisor Li would fail to appear, while a fierce aura shot out from the Rear Office and struck his carriage. The entire carriage compartment instantly shattered. Chen Luo saw only a dignified, middle-aged scholar in a long robe fly out of the Rear Office. He held a long sword pointed at Chen Luo and shouted—
"What manner of demon are you, to dare seize control of my nephew's body? You may have deceived my niece and all the servants, but you cannot deceive me, Cai Tongchen—"
The moon rose over the sea, and at this moment, we shared the same horizon.
Alone on a night of writing, what could dispel my Lovesickness?
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